[23] These are the hypocrites or al-munāfiqūn (63: 1), whose hidden truth, Denial, is in contrast to what they show to people, i.e. Belief. The fact of their matter is told here quite lucidly (Ayas 8-20), exposing their pretence so that people make no mistake about them. They are a third party, somewhere between Believers (spoken of in Ayas 1-5) and Deniers (spoken of in Ayas 6-7) (cf. Ibn Kathīr).